Method of completely impregnating textile fabric with filling material.



E. WEINHEIM.

METHOD OF COMPLETELY IMPREGNATING TEXTILE FABRIC WITH FILLING MATERIAL.

- APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, I9I6.

1.381 72%. Patented Oct. 15, I918.

up to the present EMIL INHEIM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF COMPLETELY IMPREGNATIQIG TEXTILE FABRIC WITH FILLING-MATERIAL.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. is, rare.

Application filed November 11, 1916. Serial No. 180,930.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL WEINHEIM, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Completelylmpregnating Textile Fabric with Filling Material, set forth in thefollowing specification.

This invention relates to the converting of a textile fabric intosubstitute leather and, more generally, to the impregnation of textilefabrics with filling materials of a character intended to improve thefabric for special use.

A. particular object of the invention is to improve the method ofeffecting the impregnation of the fabric. A distinguishingcharacteristic of my improved method and an objective feature thereof isthe combining of steps to effect a deep impregnation of the textilefabric in a manner suitable for com mercial manufacture, incontradistinction to small-scale, experimental production.

Heretofore fabrics have been surfacecoated and partially impregnatedwith various materials and more or less claim has been made by othersthat. they have impregnated textile fabrics throughout their entirethickness with filling materials in solution in a volatile solvent. Forexample, I am aware of the attempts to impregnate fabrics, as evidencedby the following patents:

Louis Gebaert Naert, 7 19,7 87

Albert H. Henderson, 1,020,499, 601,325,

Bayne et al., 885,219.

Wilson A. Strickler, 1,048,912.

For the most part, manufacturers have,

time, been\ able, by a commercial process, to apply only. a surfacecoating to a textile fabric which would peel ofi from the bod of thefabric withall too great a degree 0 readiness.

One objective part of my invention to accomplishthe ready impregnationon a commercial scale of a textile fabric is the kinking of or theforming of an angular bend in the fabric by drawing it over the edge ofa blade, so that the opposite side of the fabric is stretched and sothat the threads, especially the filler threads, are separated; an theapplication of asuitable dope at the edge of the angular bend so of asuitable force as, the dope readily penetrates the for example, gravity,body of the suitable inclosure 1, having that, under the action" fabricrather than forming a mere surface coating.

Another objective step in my process is the employment of a suctiondevice, operating continuously upon the moving fabric against the faceopposite that to which the dope has been applied, so as to force thedope more deeply or, in fact, the fabric by atmospheric other part of myprocess is of a dope formed of a solution,

pressure. Anthe application in a volatile solvent, of suitable fillingmaterial and the.

application of the same to a heated moving textile fabric in the openair.

Another part of my process is the preparation of the textile fabric forthe reception of the dope by subjecting the same to suitablemanipulation to remove all sizing from it by a dry manipulation and tofluff up the surface fibers and card them so that they will liehorizontally along the face of the fabric.

I desire it to be understood that many of the aforementioned objectiveparts of my process I understand to be individually new, although theyare all subject to combination one, two ormore with another to producecooperating progressive results-tending toward perfection in thefinished product.

The above and further objects of my invention will better be understoodby reference to the accompanying claims and to the illustrativeembodiments of my invention, which are described in the followingspecification in connection with the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of apparatusfor practising the process, the apparatus for the most part being shownin longitudinal section; Fig. 2 is a similar diagrammatic representationshowing a modification; Fig. IS an enlarged longitudinal section, partsbeing shown in elevation, of apparatus for efi'ecting the angular bendin the fabric; and ljig. 4: is a diagrammatic longitudinal section,part-s'being shown in elevation, of a mod1-- fied apparatus foreffecting an angular bend.

Apparatus.

A is a brushing machine comprising a an entrance slot 2 and an exit slot3 for the fabric. The inclosure 1 is provided with'an exhaust duct 4operated by any well-known exhaust very nearly through -similar to achisel bar or plate which 'on the surface of means for removingundesired material such as lint and dust from the inclosure 1. Suitablyarranged brushes 5- and 6 are suitably power driven in the direction ofthe arrows, opposite to the direction of travel of the strip of textilefabric T. It is to be understood that the mechanism A may compri'se thenecessary and convenient idlers and guiding devices such as thoseindicated by 7. B is a dope-applying mechanism in which 8 and 9 arebrushing rolls or carding rolls, suitably power driven in an oppositedirection to the travel of the fabric T. 10 is a steam-heated rollpreferably heated to the neighborhood of 220 and preferably locatedunderthe strip of fabric T, so that the heating effect of the roll maybe increased by the upward convection of the heat. A replenishabledope-containing vessel 11, with. a controllable spout 12, is referablylocated above the heating rol 10 upon any suitable support such as thebeam 13. 14 is a plate of a length at right-angles to the drawing,slightly greater than the width of the strip of fabric T, which may bemounted upon trunnions 15 to have both a vertical, longitudinal androtary adjustment. The fabric-engaging edge 16 of the plate 14 ispreferably moderately sharp and in'shape. 17 is a doctor may be theusual doctor art for spreading dope a fabric. Its transverse extentshould be slightly greater than the width of the strip of 'fabric T- Itis pref erable that. the 'same be mounted upon trunbar known in thenions 18, so that the bar may have a verti-' cal, rotary andlongitudinal adjustment. It is preferred that the dope-engaging edge '19of the doctor 17 be beveled or chisel-shaped, as indicated, and that.it'be located with its extreme edge 20in Fig. '3 slightly beyond andabove the engaging edge of the kinking 'bar 14. 20 in Fig. 1 indicates asuitable receptacle or receptacles for catchingthe excess 21 of dope andmay be suitably supported as upon a ledge 22. Suitable idle rolls areindicated by 23, and 24 is a platform for protecting the strip- T. I

As a modification, the' fabric T, after leaving the brushing mechanismA, may be formed into'a reel 24, which may be transported to take theplace of one of the idlers mechanism A may be separated at 'a distancefrom the remainder of the apparatus and the platform 24 eliminated.

C 1s a suction apparatus comprising one or "more nozzles 30, the frontlips '31 of which are slightly lower 32. These nozzles are exhausted bya suitguiding the able system of ducts 33,0perated by an exhaust blower34. The guiding roll 35 and the heating drum 36 serve the purpose offabric cooperatively across the than the .rear lips --'es's in 'eels 24or,

nozzles 30 although it should be understood that for this purpose theheated drum 36 is not necessarily heated but forms the double nction ofa guide and heating means for the fabric before entering the mechanismD. The mechanism D is substantially similar to the dope-applyingmechanism B and comprises the kinking plate 14 and the doctor bar 17 andthe dope-container 11, but, in addition, differently positioned guidingrolls 40 and 41, as indicated.

A dope-saturating device is indicated by E and comprises a suitable vat42, an immersion roller 43, and squeegee rolls 44.

A modification of the dope-applying mechanism is shown in Fig. 4, inwhich two suitably mounted rollers 81 and 82 are arranged to be pinchedagainst the suitably pivoted intermediate 1' iler 83, so that a bite offabric 84 on opposite sides of the guidestrip 85 may be progressivelypassed in and out and directly under the open mouth of a dope-containingtrough 86. Every part of the apparatus especially all of the pleces ofmechanism likely to generate static electricity, is suitably connectedbysuitable connections indicated by 46 to ground 47. In this manner dangerfrom static sparks through all the mechanism is eliminated.

Operation. Any suitable commercial fabric, preferably of a strongcharacter and usually such as cotton drill, and (provided in the form ofyards, more or less in preferable for the emto the glazed surface notwholly attributable to sizing on .the threads throughout the fabric andespecially on the exposed threads. To remove these defects and thebetterto prepare such a textile fabric for the reception of suitabledope, I first subject the fab ric to a carding, brushing and bendingaction between and about the idlers and brushes in suitable brushing andcarding apparatus such as that indicated by A. If desired, I may operatethis step of my process as a separate step drawing the fabric through bymeans of a separate apron and reeling it up for storage preparatory tothe finishing procas indicated in'Fig. 1, this brushing stage may be thefirst step'in my process, in which case the apron should be threadedabout and through the mechanism A to the commencing end of the strip oftextile fabric T. After passing from the brush- Such a textile mamas ingmechanism A the fabric is carried across a suitable number of brushingrolls 89, located preferably as nearly aspracticable to the locality forthe application of the dope 90. These rolls insure that the fiufi' ofsurface fibers which have been brought out by the brushing mechanism Aall lie uniformly in a direction away from the movement of the strip offabric and they also insure the removal of any dust or foreign particleswhich might have adhered to the strip.

A dope suitable for the practice of my process may comprise a solutionof a soluble cellulose derivative, paftly oxidized oils, gum, rubber andso forth, one or any combination of the same in any suitable volatilesolvent, examples of which are alcohols, derivatives from thedistillation of coal-tar, Wood oils and the like. Pigments and coloringmatter may be added to such a solution, as desired, and withoutinterfering with the process. The solution may, to some extent, beformed into an emulsion-with substances in a pulverized state which donot actually form a solution. The chief characteristic of the preferredform of dope to be employed is that it be thinned with a volatilesolvent. It is also preferred that the-normally semi-solid portion ofthe dope be subjected to heat to effect the completion of the dissolvingaction in the volatile solvent. The entire process is practised in wellventilated rooms but no attempt is made to providehoods for thereclaiming or confining of the volatilized solvent as it escapes fromthe fabric out of the applied dope. The grounding'of all parts of theapparatus employed in the process is important, to the end that allstatic electricity is removed to the earth without the danger of thecreation of sparks. I

After being thoroughly brushed, the fabric passes over the heated roll10, which serves the double purpose of heating the fabric, which tendsto render the dope 90 more fluid as it spreads across the surface of thefabric, and, in addition thereto, changing into steam or vapor the smallamount of moisture which every textile fabric-inherently contains,probably in a condition similar to what is known as water ,ofcrystallization. The arrangement of the heating roll 10 and the degreeof heat is preferably such as to remove asmuch as possible of themoisture inherent in the textile fabric. Thus,

when the textile fabric reaches the locality for the application ofthedope, its section is filled with the remainder of theslightlysuperheated steam. Upon reaching the kinking mechanism and doctor bar,there is a tendency for a cooling efiect below the critical temperaturefor steam and a condensation whichcreates locally a vacuum within thebody of the fabric itself, tending to draw in the applied dope. It is tobe understood,

'ing vat however, that the process, for its satisfactory practice, doesnot depend upon this drawing in of the dope by the condensation ofinherent moisture first turned into steam,

but it is believed that such a step in the process is advantageous. Thefirst most important step in the process is the formation of an angularbend 92, extending transversely across the entire width of theprogressing strip of fabric. This is accomplished by causing the stripof fab-ric to be bent over a sharp blade 14, at the edge 16 of which theangular bend is created. It is preferred to arrange the doctor blade 17so that the reverse roll 93 of dope which is being scraped off by thedoctor blade will be wedged into the bent and separated portion of thefabric at the convexity of the angular bend 92.

Fig. 3 illustrates this action. The surplus dope flows over and downacross the two lateral edges of the fabric strip. Another advantage ofapplying the dope to the con-- vexity of the angular bend 92 is that,when the strip regains a horizontal direction, the dope, which haspenetrated deeply into the fabric, is compressed by the straightening ofthe fabric itself, so as to completely saturate all of the fibers andthreads in the fabric. It has been foundthat the penetration caused inthis" manner 'is very deep into the fabric, in contradistinction to asurfacecoating, as results from the practice of old processes. Afterpassing through the first stage of dope-application, it is preferredthat the fabric pass over suction nozzles 30, which, while the dope isstill hot, tend to draw the dope further through the fabric toward theside opposite that to which dope was initially applied. The fabric isthen preferably reheated by suitable means, such as the steam heatedroll 36 and its direction of movement is reversed so as to bring whatwas first the under-side uppermost, as indicated in Fig. 1, and to thisnow uppermost side is applied an additional layer of dope in the samemanner as was applied the first layer, the same forming of an angularbend and Wedging action taking place. The fabric is then drawn back intoits original direction of movement and passed through a, saturat- 4C2;containing a charge of the same dope or, more of the volatile solvent soas to make its consistency less viscous. The excess of dope applied inthe saturating vat 42 may be removed by suitable squeegee rolls commonin the art.

, The completion of the thus deeply impregnated fabric may beaccomplished in any suitable manner, which should include a cur ngprocess.

I am aware of the fact that many of the steps in the complete processwhich I have described-are individually novel and efiective, although Iregard all of the steps,

if desired, dope containing a little practised in the sequencedescribed, to be preferable for the production of the best product- Ialso understand that the mechanism for practising my process is notnecessarily that indicated diagrammatically, and that many changes maybemade therein. For example, the formation of the progressive angular bend92 in the fabric T is not necessarily the blade 14, but may be in theform of pinching rolls 81' and 82, as shown in Fi 4. I am also awarethat the draw? ing of the fabric over the terminal edge of a table wouldbe, in effect, the same as drawing the fabric over the edge of anangular bending blade. .It is my understanding that the edge of such atable would, in effect, he the edge of sucha blade, as contemplated bymy invention.

What I claim and what I desire to secure by United States Letters Patentis:

I. The method of deeply impregnating a textile fabric with a textureconverting filling comprising, locally forming an angular bend in thetextile fabric to stretch and open the fabric threads fromone side to aconsiderable depth inwardly; and applying a dope comprising materialdissolved in a volatile-solvent at the edge of said angular bend on theopened side of the said fabric and subjecting said dope to aforce-tending to cause it to enter the said fabric.

2. The method of deeply impregnating a textile fabric with a textureconverting filling comprising, heating said fabric; 10- I cally formingan angular bend in the textile fabric to stretch and open the fabricthreads from one side to a considerable depth inwardly; and applying adope comprising material dissolved in a volatile-solvent at the openedside of said angular bend and subjecting said dope to a force tending tocause it to enter the said fabric. 3. The method of deeply impregnatinga textile fabric with a dope comprising, forming a progressive angularbend in a strip of moving fabric to open the mesh of said fabric on theconvexity of said an lar bend; andapplying a dope continuous y to theconvexity of said angular bend on one side of said strip. 7

4. The method of deeply impregnating a textile fabricwith a dope,comprising forming a progressive angular bend in'a strip of movingfabric to'open the mesh of said fabric on the convexity of said angularbend; applying a dope continuously to the convexity of said angular bendon one side of said strip; forming a second progressive angular bend insaid strip with the convexity of said angular bend on the opposite sideof said strip; dope to the convexity of said lar bend,

5. The method of. deeply impregnating a textile fabric with a dopecomprising, forming a progressive angular bend in a strip of movingfabric to open the mesh of said second anguand v applying f .fabric onthe convexity of said angular bend; and wedging said dope into saidstrip at the convexity of said angular bend.

In witness whereof I have signed my name. to this specification, this10th day of November, 1916. 1

' WEINHEIMV

